Can Andy lift the title again?

THANKS to my mum, my TV interest in Wimbledon began in the days when Rod Laver reigned supreme and commentator Dan Maskell coined the catchphrase “Oh I say” to indicate a fine point won, when he wasn’t in his “peach of a dream” mood over a particular piece of raquet-work.

Most small boys dreamed of one day growing a moustache like John Newcombe, thus acquiring the power to become the first British Wimbledon winner since Fred Perry.

Thankfully, the surly Scot Any Murray put us all out of our misery last year and will be the first player out on court at the All England Club today (without the roof on, hopefully).

Murray’s title success will again be celebrated by When Andy Won Wimbledon (BBC1, 10.35pm), but it’s going to be a lot tougher for him on the SW19 courts following back surgery.

As if to prove the point veteran Czech player Radek Stepanek breezed past Murray at Queens, while old foes Nadal and Djokovic again lie in wait.

The women’s tournament certainly yielded a shock last year, even if John Inverdale decided that France’s plump player Marion Bartoli didn’t look fit enough to lift the title. Heather Watson, who has recovered from glandular fever and a rib injury, may be our best hope of a Brit female reaching the second week.

Police Under Pressure
(BBC2, 9pm)

IT won’t come as a great surprise to learn that the police force is coming under increasing financial pressure of late – after all, almost every sector of public service is in the same boat.

Of course, they all must cope differently with the budgetary burdens which come their way, and with a front-line service such as the police, the pressure is very much on for them to deliver an effective service regardless of their finances.

After all, if they fail, what is left of society?

This two-part documentary report examines the state of policing in the UK from the point of view of officers on the ground and the most senior ranks.

The first programme follows a neighbourhood police team in Page Hall, one of Sheffield’s toughest areas, to demonstrate how they must work hard to keep the peace, particularly when the Asian and white residents are angry about the influx of Slovakian Roma, who have a habit of gathering in groups on the street.

Murdered By My Boyfriend
(BBC3, 9pm)

BASED on a true story, this new one-off drama looks at the devastating effect of domestic violence and presents the events with a dreadful sense of inevitability that actually makes the story all the more poignant.

Seventeen-year-old Ashley falls in love with Reece after she meets him at a party. Ashley is easily attracted to an older lad, who is handsome, charming and confident. But as their relationship progresses it soon transpires that all his plus points are a facade for a vicious, controlling, jealous individual, who becomes increasingly violent towards his girlfriend.

At first she forgives him his outbursts, and for that Ashley pays a heavy price.

What makes this all the more disturbing is the fact it’s all true – only the names have been changed at the request of the victim’s family.

BBC3 follows it up with the documentary The Truth About Domestic Violence on Thursday at 9pm.